The present invention relates to a vertical lift gate used to control access to certain areas, roadways and corrals. More specifically, this invention relates to an electrically or manually powered vertical lift gate which may be activated manually or through the use of remote controls.
The use of a vertical style lift gate has been found to be advantageous in many situations where swinging gates can not be used for a variety of reasons, such as the presence of cattle, trees, landscaping, buildings or other obstructions that prevent the swinging of a gate. When used in a ranch or farm type setting, a typical gate requires a rancher to pull up, stop their tractor or pickup, exit the vehicle, open the gate, drive the vehicle through, once again exit the vehicle and close the gate. From this it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide a gate that could be operated from within the vehicle or by a device easily carried in the pocket or belt of a worker, thus allowing easy access to gate areas, minimizing the amount of time a gate is open which can prevent the unwanted escape of livestock or entrance of other unwanted animals or people and promote a safe and efficient workplace.
Further, it can be seen that it would be necessary for this gate to securely lock and close when in the closed position and to easily be unlocked and opened either remotely or manually.
From this it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide a gate that lifts vertically rather than swinging side to side and lifts on a simple mechanism that is both inexpensive to build and install as well as simple to maintain.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a method by which a fence gate can be opened to allow for the passage of people, livestock, or machinery from one side of a fence-line to the other.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide such a method which clears the gate from the fence opening by lifting it around a pivot point in a vertical fashion which allows it to operate in a smaller area than the conventional swinging gate.
It is a further objective of the present invention of providing a method of opening wide span gates in a manner that will allow for its effective opening and closing and which reduces the stresses placed on its pivot point due to the width of the span of the gate.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such a method of clearing a fence opening which can be adapted to use a variety of energy sources, from hand cranked to electrically driven, to raise and lower the pivotally mounted gate.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide such a method of opening gates that can use remote activation devices, much like those used in garage door opener applications, which will allow the user to control the position of the gate from a remote location such as the driver""s seat of his vehicle.
These objectives are accomplished by the use of a steel framed gate that is pivotally mounted at one of its lower corners to a specifically designed inner fence post which is securely positioned in the proper location within the ground. This method of pivotally mounting the gate allows one end of it to be swung up and out of the way thereby effectively opening the fence gap and allowing passage from one side of the fence line to the other. Additionally, the positioning of the pivotal mount on one of the lower corners of the gate ensures that as it is pivoted around the mount to the fully upright position, the body of the fence will entirely clear the fence gap which in turn allows for the clear passage through the fence line.
Outside of the inner fence post, in relation to the gate, is located the primary post which provides the point of attachment for the winch and other components which are necessary for the operation of the invention. The primary post is significantly taller than the inner post and this additional height adds a degree of leverage to the lifting and lowering of the gate as the winch device is mounted on this post at a relatively high location in relation to the upper surface of the gate. The winch is connected to the upper surface of the gate by the winch cable which is attached to the far upper corner of the gate. This arrangement of the winch in relation to its point of attachment to the gate provides the necessary leverage to the lifting mechanism to ensure for the proper operation of the invention. The space between the primary post and the inner post is spanned by the gate mesh which closes off that space and ensures that nothing can pass through the fence line between these components of the invention.
Additionally, the primary post provides the point of attachment for the upper end of the gate spring which spans the distance between the primary post and the upper corner of the gate that is located directly above the pivotal mount of the gate to the inner post. The purpose of the gate spring is to keep a certain degree of pressure on the gate as it passes through its range of motion in the opening and closing process. This pressure ensures that these processes operate smoothly through all stages of the present invention""s opening and closing actions.
On the opposite side of the fence opening from the inner post is located the outer post. The outer post defines the dimensions of the fence opening and provides the point of attachment for the outer end of the gate when it is in the closed position. The closing mechanism is made up of a gate catch which engages and guides the edge of the gate as it is lowered into the closed position and holds it securely once the closed position has been properly obtained. Conversely, the open ended design of the upper end of the gate catch ensures that it will not interfere with the lifting of the gate during the opening operations.
The manner in which the operator of the present invention raises and lowers the gate depends largely on the power source used to drive the winch. In its simplest form there is simply a crank handle attached to the winch which the operator rotates to raise or lower the gate. While this method is effective, it can be laborious and requires that the operator approach the winch to operate it which may involve exiting a vehicle. A second manner of winch operation is to use electricity provided by a battery or by live feed electrical wires. This resolves the laborious aspect of the hand operated winch as the operator only needs to engage a switch to raise or lower the gate. Finally, the electrically driven winch can also be fitted with a sensing device much like those used with garage door openers which allow the operator to raise and lower the gate from remote locations such as the driver""s seat of their vehicle which makes the operation of the invention as simple as possible.
The present invention can also employ a specially designed gate latch which is used to lock the gate in a downward and closed manner when the operator chooses to close off the gate opening. The gate latch is made up of a plunger that is horizontally mounted at the upper outside corner of the gate in a manner that allows it to slide laterally in relation to the upper surface of the gate. Additionally, the latch assembly incorporates the use of a compressible spring that is mounted in conjunction with the plunger and operates on it to force it outward in relation to the gate. The tip of the plunger in its most outward orientation engages the catch housing which is fixedly attached to the outer post on the far side of the gate opening. This positioning of the plunger serves to lock the gate to the outer post in the closed position where it will remain until the plunger is disengaged from its position of contact with the catch housing.
The gate latch is disengaged from the closed position by an inward force (in relation to the body of the gate) being placed on the plunger by the movement of the attached winch cable. This inward force serves to compress the spring and retract the plunger from the contact with the catch housing. With the plunger disengaged, the winch cable is then free to lift the gate out of the gate opening as described above. Conversely, when the gate is lowered back into the closed position, the resulting removal of the weight of the gate off of the winch cable allows the latch spring to force the plunger back into contact with the catch funnel which again locks the gate into the closed position across the gate opening.
An additional method of constructing the gate hinge is also available which employs the use of a dual slatted inner post which contains a gap into which the hinge is built and into which the gate fits in both the open and closed positions. The inner post gate hinge provides a more secure mounting for the gate than that provided by the previous embodiment which in turn provides a more durable and effective mechanism by which the gate can be opened and closed in conjunction with the stated purpose of the present invention.
For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be made to the drawings and the description in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the present invention.